Device for heating a heat transfer medium



June 26, 1956 M. J. DE LEONARDIS DEVICE FOR HEATING A HEAT TRANSFER MEDIUM Filed Aug. 15. 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

A T TORNE YS.

June 26, 1956 M. J. DE LEONARDIS 2,751,892

DEVICE FOR HEATING A HEAT TRANSFER MEDIUM Filed Aug. 15, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

y g, KM (him ATTORNEYS.

limited States Patent DEVICE FOR HEATING A HEAT TRANSFER NIEDIUM Michael J. De Leonardis, Valley Stream, N. Y.

Application August 15, B50, Serial No. 179,464

1 Claim. (Cl. 122-135) This invention relates to a gas or oil burning furnace or boiler in which a fluid medium is heated and circulated to a room, ofiice or other space or object which it is desired to heat. While various mediums may be heated and circulated the invention is described herein embodied by a boiler employing water or steam as the heat transfering medium and having connections through which the water or steam may .be circulated through any suitable circulation system.

An object of the invention is to provide an eflicient means for heating a heat transfer medium.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple,

practical and efficient device having a maximum B. t. u.

output for the amount of fuel consumed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the above described kind which is of small size in proportion to its heat output.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the above described kind which can be operated without any chimney external to the furnace casing.

Other objects of the invention will be in part obvious or in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, arrangements of parts, and in the several steps and relation and order of each of said steps to one or more of the others thereof, all as will be pointed out in the following description, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claim.

The invention will best be understood if the following description is read in connection with the drawings, in which,

Figure l is a perspective view of a device embodying my invention, partly cut away to show its internal structure and to indicate the flow of heated gases and the heat transfer fluid;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an elevation taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line 55 of Figure 4.

As will be seen more clearly from Figure 4, the device comprises a fire-box 10, a first combustion chamber 12 leading upwardly from the fire-box; and a boiler space 14 above said first combustion compartment and comprising part of the compartment 16 for water or other fluid transfer medium that extends entirely around the said first combustion chamber; a second or flue-gas chamber 18 extending around the rear and sides of compartment 16 and communicating at the top with chamber 12 and an insulation chamber 20 extending around the rear and sides of 18 and over the front of 16. Space 4 is above space 12 and separated from it by the horizontal partition 21.

Insulation chamber 20 is defined by walls 20a and 20b Patented June 26, 1956 ice extending from base 11 to top wall 15 of the boiler. Wall 22 extends from base 11 to horizontal partition 21 and separates the compartment 16 for water or other heat transfer medium, from the products of combustion which pass upwardly in space 12 through an elongated path around the vertically spaced inwardly projecting portions 16e16a of compartment 16. Portions 16a, 16c and 162 project from rear to front within space 12 of the first chamber and portions 16b and 16d extend from front to rear within space 12 and substantially overlap said extensions 16a, 16c and 16e although spaced vertically therefrom thus defining an elongated path for the products of combustion from fire-box 10 to the top of portion 18b of chamber 18 which extends along the rear portion of chamber 16. Said portions 16a-16e extend across the first chamber and are open to the vertically extending compartment 16 along their lateral margins respectively as well as along their rear margins. They thus open into compartment 16 along the greater part of their peripheral margins.

Compartment 16 communicates with space 14, in front and on either side of horizontal partition 21. The products of combustion, heated to a high temperature in the fire box, pass from the fire upwardly over the inner face of compartment 16 and around the extensions of said compartment, 16c, 16:1, 160, 16b and 16a which are disposed in staggered overlapping relation, to the upper rear end of space 12 which communicates with the portion 18b of said second compartment 18 which constitutes a continuation of the gas passage provided within space 12. Compartment 18 comprises portions 18a, 18b and 18c, portions 18a and overlie the portions of compartment 16 which extend along the respective sides of the combustion chamber 10 and space 12. Said intermediate portion 18b extends across the portion of compartment 16 which extends along the rear of the fire box 10 and space '12. Said portion 18b is divided vertically by the partition 24 and the spaces thus provided on the opposite sides of partition 24 communicate respectively with the chambers 13a and 18c, at their lower ends. Said chamber portions are separated from chamber portion 1811 by vertical partitions p extending from the furnace top wall 15 of the ducts d respectively and have bafiles 26 arranged therein in staggered relation so that the products of cornbustion, after flowing downwardly through divided chamber portion 13b, travel upwardly through an extended path in chamber portions 18a and 180 respectively, over the outer surfaces of opposite side portions of chamber 16, to opposite sides of exhaust chamber 28 from which they may be discharged through the small, pipe-like exhaust conduit 30, the diameter of which may be on the order of two to four inches depending upon the size of the heating unit.

Compartment 16 is thus heated on a plurality of surfaces by direct contact with the highly heated products of combustion and a fluid medium therein absorbs heat rapidly and circulates from the inlet and return conduit 32, through chamber 14, from which it passes, in vapor or liquid phase according to the heating system employed, to and through the outlet conduit 34, to the radiators, coils, or other known heat radiating or transferring means employed (not shown), and back to conduit 32.

The structure described above with burner means adjusted as is described herein provides extremely eflicient heating apparatus in which so much of the heat of the heated gases or products of combustion has been successfully transferred to the heat transfer medium in compartment 16, that gases having a temperature in the firebox on the order of 2400 F. have a temperature on 'the order of F. in exhaust conduit 30, upon leaving exhaust chamber 28.

In my device the products of combustion flow through an extended path from the fire box to the exhaust conduit 39 of relatively small cross sectional area, and, due to the many changes in direction of flow of the products of combustion the rate of flow is slow and gentle. Thishas two important results. First it produces prolonged con tact of the products of combustion with the surface of the compartment 18, without interference due to down draft, and second, it causes the mixture of fuel and air introduced through burner 36 to remain in the fire-box 1 long enough to be substantially completely consumed. The slow non-turbulent flow of the products of combustion in my device permits full utilization of the thermal energy of the gases and results in a very efl'icient transfer of energy to the fluid transfer medium. In my device unconsumed fuel passes through a flue gas passage which is very long compared with the relatively short distance between the fuel inlet and the exhaust port or chimney of the ordinary burner installation, and the very high temperature throughout said long path completes the combustion of any fuel not consumed in the fire-box. The passing of the gases or heated products of combustion first upwardly around the projecting portions 16e, 1611, 160, 1612, and 16a of compartment 16, and then successively down over the rear of compartment 16, and upwardly over the opposite sides of said compartment 16 provides a very long passage in which flame is supported, provided a large proportion of air is introduced into the boiler through the burner causing a very actively burning flame within the fire-box, and a stream of flame and products of combustion travelling gently and slowly through said long restricted path, heated to such a high degree that fuel not consumed in the fire-box is consumed while traveling through said path, thus effecting a considerable saving over the ordinary type of furnace.

Because no chimney extending directly from the fire-box upwardly to a point outside the furnace casing is employed there is no draft such as is caused by such a chimney. The mixture of fuel and air is thus held back by atmospheric pressure including the weight of the gas column directly above it, and moves along its extended path very slowly, in contrast to the rapid flow through and above the fire-box of prior art boilers caused by the suction at the top of the chimney which acts to pull out the products of combustion. Such suction both works against complete combustion, and materially shortens the time the heated products of combustion remain in contact with the effective heating surfaces inside the standard and prior art boilers.

Plugs 38 have been indicated extending through the insulating outer wall of the furnace. A number of these are provided so that, when removed, ready access may be had to the interior of the compartments through which the products of combustion pass first after leaving the fire box and the space 12 above the fire box, to facilitate cleaning of this space. A safety pressure valve or plug 40 of an ordinary kind is indicated on top of the 4 furnace as well as the pressure indicator 42 of any well known type. Actual use has shown that very little cleaning is required because of the substantially complete combustion which is accomplished.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by this invention an apparatus in which the various objects hereinabove set forth together with many thoroughly practical advantages are successfully achieved. As various possible embodiments might be made of the mechanical features of the above invention and as the art herein described might be varied in various parts, all without departing from the scope of the invention, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as i1- lustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is:

A boiler or water heater comprising a plurality of nesting chambers, including a first innermost chamber comprising a combustion chamber, an intermediate chamber for a heat transfer medium, and a third chamber substantially surrounding the intermediate chamber and forming a flue gas chamber, vertical partition means dividing said flue gas chamber into a plurality of portions overlying dlfierent portions of said intermediate chamber and intercommunicating at their bottoms, a passage for the flue gas extending from said first chamber to a first portion of the flue gas chamber, and vent means communicating with the top of a second of said portions of the flue gas chamber, said intermediate chamber comprising a portion disposed above said passage and portions projecting into said combustion chamber below said passage, said projecting portions extending across the combustion chamber and opening into the main portion of the intermediate chamber along their rear and lateral margins.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 369,043 Chase Aug. 30, 1887 399,975 Cunningham Mar. 19, 1889 643,503 Hopler Feb. 13, 1900 660,213 Frost Oct. 23, 1900 1,136,862 Bunting Apr. 20, 1915 1,243,901 Unger Oct. 23, 1917 1,262,713 Streeper Aug. 16, 1918 1,349,617 La Fay Aug. 17,1920 1,391,838 La Fay Sept. 27, 1921 1,391,839 La Fay Sept. 27, 1921 1,609,680 Welsh Dec. 7, 1926 1,672,252 Garvey June 5, 1928 2,098,489 Everhard Nov. 9, 1937 2,625,139 Langen Jan. 13, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 430,405 Germany June 16, 1926 

